Texas Architect July/Aug 2006: Color

Texas Architect is the official publication of the Texas Society of Architects, each edition features recently completed projects and other editorial content largely written by AIA members in Texas. That collective participation was the basis of Texas Architect’s recognition by the national AIA with a 2010 Institute Honor for Collaborative Achievement.

N E W S
Texas ‘Green’ Projects Among AIA’s Top Ten
TexaS has three projects among the AIA’s 2006
top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and
green design solutions that protect and enhance
the environment. The annual list of Top Ten
Green Projects is selected by the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE).
The 2006 COTE Top Ten Green Projects
address environmental conservation and the
notion of sustainable development with designs
that integrate architecture, technology, and
natural systems. They make a positive contribution to their community, improve comfort for
building occupants, and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as: reuse
of existing structures, connection to transit
systems, low-impact site development, energy
and water conservation, use of sustainable or
renewable construction materials, and design
that improves indoor air quality.
The three Texas projects are:
• Westcave Preserve Environmental Learning
Center in Travis County by Jackson & McElhaney
Architects of Austin — A 30-acre nature preserve
and canyon 28 miles northwest of Austin, Texas
needed to expand its community programs by
building a new “wilderness classroom” and
provide a meeting place for walking tours to a
nearby waterfall and “live” grotto cave. The goal
of the two agencies who partnered for the project
was to foster the respect and stewardship of the
natural environment, provide environmental
education, and preserve this sanctuary into
the future. The design of the structure was
conceived as a 3-dimensional textbook. The
architecture and design elements work to mimic
or model the surrounding natural systems.
Jury comments: “This project is truly of its
place. They looked at building as a teaching tool.
The east and west faces are the long faces of this
building … the eaves are a regional vernacular.
There is pocket parking and a wooded site. The
glass is high and well protected. They were careful to preserve the vegetation. They paid close
attention to issues of thermal mass.”
• World Birding Center in Mission by Lake/
Flato Architects of San Antonio — The Lower
Rio Grande Valley is one of the richest bird
habitats in the world, however only 5% of the
native habitat currently remains. On the major
migratory pathway for most North American
species, the area has become a major destination
for nature enthusiasts. The new World Birding
Center, built at the Bentsen–Rio Grande Valley
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State Park for Texas Parks &
Wildlife, creates a gateway
between the disturbed agricultural land and a 1700-acre
native habitat preserve. The
design approach was to do
more with less. The architecture learned from the regional vernacular, responded
to the harsh climate, and
minimized disturbance of
existing habitat.
Jury comments: “It caters
carefully to the type of occupant, a place for quiet
observation, it was a nice, delicate intervention
on its site. They brought the programmed square
footage down from 20,000 to 13,000. This is a
good example of right-sizing, an approach that
is often overlooked. This project also follows
the big moves: reduce, reuse, recycle. Reducing square footage is the biggest move you can
make.”
• School of Nursing & Student Community
Center in Houston by BNIM Architects of Kansas
City, Missouri, and Lake/Flato Architects of
San Antonio — The School of Nursing design
team became stewards of the vision established
by University leadership for a nursing school
and student community center designed to be
state-of-the-art for learning, research, student
service, and workplace. The resulting building
reduces the use of energy, polluting chemicals, cleaning agents, potable water, and other
resources. The School of Nursing and Student
Community Center at The University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston establishes
benchmarks for healthy buildings; for daylight;
for visual acuity and cognitive learning; and for
flexibility, durability, and reduced operating
costs. The design is straightforward and transparent. In plan and section, distinct zones organize building functions, to maximize exposure
to the adjacent park, views, and daylight.
Jury comments: “This was a programmatically complex project on a difficult and dense
site. They had to combine a lot of human and
high tech functions. I like that they set this
building up to get greener; there is a framework for photovoltaics when they can afford it. I
think we should all be thinking about designing
buildings that can adapt over time.”
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Westcave Preserve, Travis County
World Birding Center, Mission
School of Nursing, Houston
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